


Computer Science

by lyricwritesprose



Series: Doctor Who Drabbles [3]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Drabble, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyricwritesprose/pseuds/lyricwritesprose
Summary: It's important to restate complex ideas in your own terms.
Series: Doctor Who Drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665835
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	Computer Science

The Population Management Mainframe was broken and moderately on fire. The Doctor's explanation of this included the words "multiphasic self-reinforcing loop" and went on for at least a minute before Jo said, "Oh, it's the knickers trick!"  
  
"I beg your pardon?" His tone was better suited to sentences like, _my soup is full of spiders._  
  
_"You_ know. Where you type in ten, then carrot thingie, then 'write knickers'–or is it 'say knickers?' Anyway, the next line is twenty, then carrot thingie, then 'GOTO 10,' and before you know it you've got detention and a computer that's completely jammed up with knickers. I learned it from a boy in school."  
  
The Doctor gave her the down-the-nose look that reminded Jo of a particularly long-suffering eagle. "Jo. The Population Management Mainframe is thirtieth century technology. _Vastly_ more complicated than the machines you're used to; far too sophisticated to be taken down by a puerile schoolboy's programming prank. I employed . . ."  
  
The explanation went on for at least three minutes. From it, Jo gathered that (a) the Doctor's solution was very impressive and involved saying 'multiphasic' a lot, (b) he was feeling especially Victorian today, and (c) it was totally the knickers trick.


End file.
